• Political parties get poor marks in commitment to healthcare, housing for all

The Spanish sections of international NGOs Greenpeace, Oxfam Intermón and Amnesty International have criticized Spain’s political parties in the run-up to Dec. 20th general elections for being vague on their commitment to enshrining social rights, such as fair universal access to healthcare and housing, as fundamental rights within Spain’s Constitution.

The comments came following a months-long campaign by the three global agencies to convince Spanish political parties to consider a reform to Article 53 of the Spanish Constitution that would give citizens denied access to healthcare, housing and a living wage the right to seek redress through complaints filed with the country’s constitutional court, the Tribunal Constitutional.

The conservative governing Partido Popular (PP) refused to consider any Constitutional reform in the matter, while the mainstay Socialist opposition party (PSOE) also refused to work toward amending the Constitution to recognize the right to housing as a fundamental right.

The PSOE has incorporated the guaranteed right to a living wage in its Dec. 20th election platform, the groups said. Other parties on the political left, including Podemos and Izquierda Unida (IU), have made public statements in favor of Constitutional guarantees for the rights to housing and a living wage, but have yet to make a formal commitment as part of their election campaigns.